Jill | RYSE

Author Page: Jill

Profile: Jill Carlile grew up in Juneau, Alaska. She enjoys the ocean, the mountains, rain, and winter, and is interested in minimizing our negative impacts on each of these, as well as all other natural places and systems. Jill attends Quest University in British Columbia and is currently in East Kalimantan, Indonesia on the island of Borneo with an educational NGO called Ethical Expeditions. Along with seventeen other Quest students, she hopes to learn more about the various forces that threaten to completely deforest this island over the course of the two-month program.

RYSE posts by Jill:

Back in the Northlands

Posted by Jill on Mar 11th, 2010 in Rainforest Agribusiness | 1 comment

After 36+ hours of transit (including 14 hours in the Singapore’s lovely Changi Airport), I’m back in Squamish, BC and re-immersing myself in “traditional” education (not that Quest University is all that traditional). It’s hard to believe we were in Borneo for two months; that time seems like a sort of wormhole in my day-to-day existence. It’s heartening to hear from my fellow students that they’re watching our videos (which are now posted online), and many of them (as well as a number of people I met in airports and on planes during the long journey home) are genuinely... (continue reading)

The World is Blue… but for how much longer?

Posted by Jill on Mar 4th, 2010 in Rainforest Agribusiness | 1 comment

Like the vast majority of global conservation, restoration, and preservation efforts, our Ethical Expeditions Borneo 2010 trip has focused in large part on forests – and with good reason. When we burn and log, we lose biodiversity, carbon storage, and water purification services. But as important as the world’s forests are, by focusing exclusively on them with neglect a much larger ecosystem. Here at the end of our expedition, we’ve taken some time to focus on the blue half of the planet, both academically (in our readings and classes) and experientially (on the island of Maratua).... (continue reading)

Simplicity and Immunity, Bathrooms and Blessed Unrest

Posted by Jill on Feb 28th, 2010 in Rainforest Agribusiness | 2 comments

Picture for a moment tropical paradise: white sand beaches, sparkling blue ocean, and palm trees arching out over the breaking waves. That’s where I just spent ten days. The island of Maratua is located just off the coast of the Berau region in East Kalimantan. Maratua Island... right out of a storybook Not only a terrestrial paradise, it is located in the Coral Triangle, the most biodiverse region of the world’s oceans. It was here that I had my first snorkeling experience and I was completely blown away. Bright green fish with hot pink and maroon accents, electric blue fish, intricately... (continue reading)

Dr. Seuss and Accountability

Posted by Jill on Feb 16th, 2010 in Rainforest Agribusiness | 5 comments

a fire tower in Lesan Protected Area There is a page in Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax” where the Onceler’s axe is depicted chopping down the last Truffula Tree. The scale of deforestation is immediately obvious – the background is a ghost forest of stumps, quietly bearing witness to the Onceler’s greed. I was reminded of this childhood classic when just days ago I stood in the middle of a similar scene. Just as our trip into the Wehea forest exposed us to the untouched jungle we’d heard so much about, our recent time in Lesan forest exposed us to the infamous sprawls of palm oil... (continue reading)

Wehea Protected Forest: A Lesson in Cooperation

Posted by Jill on Feb 9th, 2010 in Rainforest Agribusiness | 2 comments

After nearly a month here in Borneo, we’ve finally experienced what could easily be called the focal point of our trip: the untouched primary rainforest the world is so interested in saving. We spend the last week in the East Kutai region of East Kalimantan, first staying in the indigenous Dayak Wehea Village, then at a ranger station in the middle of the protected Wehea Forest. Wehea ranger station: our home away from home The people of the Wehea village were incredibly welcoming. We gorged ourselves on deliciously spicy meals at chief Lecheta’s home three times a day and spend our free... (continue reading)

Mirrors

Posted by Jill on Jan 26th, 2010 in Rainforest Agribusiness | 0 comments

Whenever I anticipate travel to a new part of the world, I inevitably create for myself a picture of what that place looks like. Before arriving in Borneo, my mental map of the island was filled with wide, slow-moving rivers winding sinuously through tangled jungle forests for mile after mile. Yesterday, a part of that vision was realized when we boarded a houseboat and headed up the beautiful Mahakam river. We passed countless small villages perched on pilings over the river where children would run out to wave at us before returning to a bicycle race along the boardwalks. Tugboats floated... (continue reading)

First Impressions: Balikpapan

Posted by Jill on Jan 13th, 2010 in Rainforest Agribusiness | 2 comments

Apologies to all for this longer-than-expected gap between blog posts! I actually wrote this one three days ago, but we’ve been so busy here that it’s been tough to find a spare moment. Still, better late than never: After a full 48 hours of travel, we’re finally here in East Kalimantan, Indonesia on the island of Borneo. The reality of the next two months didn’t hit me until after we landed yesterday. Brent and Sheryl (our leaders, and the founders of Ethical Expeditions) met us at the airport and we all piled into a van and drove through the streets of Balikpapan; it’s a city... (continue reading)

Ethical Expeditions Borneo 2010

Posted by Jill on Dec 22nd, 2009 in Rainforest Agribusiness | 3 comments

Photo by David Gilbert It’s hard to believe that in seventeen days, I’ll be on the other side of the world experiencing a very different kind of “winter”. I’ve been fascinated with Borneo ever since grade 8, when I read Sam Lightener’s All Elevations Unknown, a memoir about a climbing expedition on the island. But I never expected that someday I’d be heading over to talk to biologists, conservationists, and local people about the best way to preserve (or perhaps “responsibly manage”) the amazing rainforests there! My name is Jill Carlile and, like Veronica, I am part of the... (continue reading)

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Jill Carlile grew up in Juneau, Alaska. She enjoys the ocean, the mountains, rain, and winter, and is interested in minimizing our negative impacts on each of these, as well as all other natural places and systems. Jill attends Quest University in British Columbia and is currently in East Kalimantan, Indonesia on the island of Borneo with an educational NGO called Ethical Expeditions. Along with seventeen other Quest students, she hopes to learn more about the various forces that threaten to completely deforest this island over the course of the two-month program.

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